Method and system of creating a video sequence

ABSTRACT

A method of creating a video sequence. The method comprises setting at least one repetitive reminder in a schedule managed by a handheld device having an image sensor, alarming a user according to the at least one repetitive reminder, capturing a sequence of images using the image sensor, automatically identifying a facial image depicting a face in a preset area in the sequence of images, automatically selecting the facial image, in response to the identification, and adding the facial image to a facial video sequence.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 USC 119(e) ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/298,226 filed Jan. 26, 2010,the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to methodand system of creating a sequence of images and, more particularly, butnot exclusively, to a method and system of creating a facial videosequence.

During the last years, blogging have become a wide phenomena. Manypeople and companies manage a website, a microsite or the like whereinthey upload regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, orother material such as graphics or video. The entries are commonlydisplayed in reverse-chronological order.

Methods and system have been developed for creating blogs with textualor visual content. For example, patent publication number(WO/2004/102855), titled “Content Publishing Over Mobile Networks”discloses a system for using mobile phones to generate instant messagesand permanent text publishing, images and audio files as mobile web logs(hereinafter, “mBlogs”) over mobile networks. The system allows a userto generate and publish text, and attach image files and audio fileswith a time and location of an event as a non-revocable and integralpart of the published content. Users are allowed to view and interactwith the published content with mobile phones over mobile networks. Thesystem allows for sorting of content by category and by indexing thematerial by the operator of a mobile network, and allows the users ofmBlogs to search for content by category as well as by indexing.Furthermore, the system allows users to subscribe to mBlogs asmultimedia messages for viewing on mobile phones over mobile networks.

Another example is described in U.S. Patent Publication number2008/0177752, filed on Jan. 22, 2008 that describes a method forreal-time video blogging, including creating and entering comments inreal-time by a plurality of terminals accessing a blog; uploading thecreated and entered comments to a server providing the blog by theterminals; converting the uploaded comments to separate descriptor filesand storing the descriptor files in a blog file by the server; anddownloading and playing the blog file containing the descriptor filesfrom the server by the terminals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to some embodiments of the present invention there is provideda method of creating a video sequence. The method comprises setting atleast one repetitive reminder in a schedule managed by a handheld devicehaving an image sensor, alarming a user according to the at least onerepetitive reminder, capturing a sequence of images using the imagesensor, automatically identifying a facial image depicting a face in apreset area in the sequence of images, automatically selecting thefacial image, in response to the identification, and adding the facialimage to a facial video sequence.

Optionally, the automatically identifying is performed using a referencefacial area.

More optionally, the method further comprises capturing an initialfacial image and calibrating the reference facial area according to thelocation of an initial face depicted in the initial image.

Optionally, the automatically identifying comprises automaticallyidentifying a facial image depicting a face having a preset facialexpression.

More optionally, the method further comprises capturing an initialfacial image and calibrating the preset facial expression according tothe facial expression of an initial face depicted in the initial image.

More optionally, the reference facial area is adjusted according to alocation of the face in at least one previously captured facial image inthe facial video sequence.

More optionally, the preset facial expression is adjusted according to afacial expression of the face in at least one previously captured facialimage in the facial video sequence.

Optionally, the automatically identifying comprises automaticallyinitiating the capturing in response to the alarming.

Optionally, the method further comprises automatically adding a tagcomprising content according to at least one schedule record of theschedule to the facial image.

Optionally, the method further comprises automatically adding a tagdescribing a geographic location of the handheld device during thecapturing to the facial image.

Optionally, the method further comprises automatically adding a notecreated using the handheld device to the facial image.

Optionally, the adding comprises forwarding the facial image to a remotestorage which hosts the facial video sequence and connected to anetwork.

Optionally, the method further comprises presenting the facial videosequence to a plurality of users via the network.

According to some embodiments of the present invention there is provideda handheld device of creating a facial video sequence. The handheldcomprises an image sensor which captures a sequence of images, ascheduling module which sets at least one repetitive reminder in aschedule, and a facial recognition module which activates the imagesensor in response to the at least one repetitive reminder,automatically identifies a facial image depicting a face in a presetarea in the sequence of images and automatically adds the capturedfacial image to a facial video sequence.

Optionally, the handheld device further comprises a presentation unitwhich alarms a user according to the at least one repetitive reminder.

Optionally, the handheld device further comprises an instruction modulefor computing at least one instruction for maneuvering the handhelddevice so capture the facial image and presenting the at least oneinstruction on a screen of the handheld device.

Optionally, the handheld device is a cellular phone.

Optionally, the handheld device further comprises a location modulewhich detects a location of the handheld and adds the location to thefacial image.

Optionally, the handheld device further comprises a communication modulefor forwarding the facial image to a remote storage storing the facialvideo sequence.

Optionally, the handheld device further comprises a memory of storingthe facial image.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and/or scientific terms usedherein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinaryskill in the art to which the invention pertains. Although methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of embodiments of the invention, exemplarymethods and/or materials are described below. In case of conflict, thepatent specification, including definitions, will control. In addition,the materials, methods, and examples are illustrative only and are notintended to be necessarily limiting.

Implementation of the method and/or system of embodiments of theinvention can involve performing or completing selected tasks manually,automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, according to actualinstrumentation and equipment of embodiments of the method and/or systemof the invention, several selected tasks could be implemented byhardware, by software or by firmware or by a combination thereof usingan operating system.

For example, hardware for performing selected tasks according toembodiments of the invention could be implemented as a chip or acircuit. As software, selected tasks according to embodiments of theinvention could be implemented as a plurality of software instructionsbeing executed by a computer using any suitable operating system. In anexemplary embodiment of the invention, one or more tasks according toexemplary embodiments of method and/or system as described herein areperformed by a data processor, such as a computing platform forexecuting a plurality of instructions. Optionally, the data processorincludes a volatile memory for storing instructions and/or data and/or anon-volatile storage, for example, a magnetic hard-disk and/or removablemedia, for storing instructions and/or data. Optionally, a networkconnection is provided as well. A display and/or a user input devicesuch as a keyboard or mouse are optionally provided as well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments of the invention are herein described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings. With specificreference now to the drawings in detail, it is stressed that theparticulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrativediscussion of embodiments of the invention. In this regard, thedescription taken with the drawings makes apparent to those skilled inthe art how embodiments of the invention may be practiced.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is schematic illustration of a handheld device of creating avideo sequence of facial images which have been captured in differentand separate events, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary handheld device, a cellular phone, according tosome embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method of generating a sequence of imageswhich have been captured in different and separate events, in which theface of user are located in a common area in the frame, according tosome embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary image having a facialarea marked, according to some embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary facial image selection process,according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to methodand system of creating a sequence of images and, more particularly, butnot exclusively, to a method and system of creating a facial videosequence.

According to some embodiments of the present invention there is provideda handheld device, such as a cellular phone, and a method for creating avideo sequence that depicts change, such as facial changes of a targetobject, such as a person, over a period. The device includes ascheduling module that reminds a user to take a picture of the targetobject. The device further includes a facial recognition module thatassures that the captured images depict the face of the target object ina common facial area and/or that the captured images depict the face ofthe target object in common expression.

Optionally, the device includes an instruction module for instructingthe user during the image capturing.

Optionally, the device includes a GPS module that allows adding a tagdocumenting the location of the user during the image capturing.

According to some embodiments of the present invention there is provideda method of creating a video sequence which is based on one or morerepetitive reminders which are set in a schedule managed by a handhelddevice having an image sensor. This allows alarming a user according tothe repetitive reminders and capturing a sequence of images using theimage sensor, optionally automatically in response to the repetitivereminders. A facial image depicting a face in a preset area in thesequence of images is automatically identified, selected, and added to afacial video sequence which is located in the memory of the handhelddevice and/or on a remote server, such as a web server.

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, itis to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and the arrangement of thecomponents and/or methods set forth in the following description and/orillustrated in the drawings and/or the Examples. The invention iscapable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out invarious ways.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which is schematic illustration of ahandheld device 100 of creating a facial sequence of images which havebeen captured in different and separate events, in which the face of atarget object is located in a common area in the frame, according tosome embodiments of the present invention. The period between every twoseparate events, may be half an hour, an hour, 12 hours, a day a year,and any intermediate interval. The device 100 is optionally a cellularphone, for example Iphone™, a laptop, a music player, a netbook, and atablet. The device 100 includes a scheduling module 104 which sets oneor more repetitive reminders in a schedule, such as an Outlook™calendar, an Iphone™ or an Ipod™ calendar, and the like. As used herein,a repetitive reminder may be a reminder that is activated any number oftimes a day, for example once or twice, once in every predefined numberof hours, before, after, and/or during an event, such as an eventscheduled in the schedule and the like. The reminders may be setautomatically, optionally daily, weekly, or monthly and/or during acalibration process, for example as described below.

The handheld device 100 further comprises an image sensor 102, such as aCMOS based and/or a CCD based image sensor, that is configured forcapturing a facial image of the user. The image sensor 102 may be placedwith his face toward the face of the handheld device 100, for example asshown in FIG. 2, or with his face toward the opposing side, the back ofthe housing of the handheld device 100. The image sensor is optionallyintegrated in the handheld device, for example an integrated camera of acellular phone, as shown at FIG. 2 or a laptop.

The handheld device 100 further includes one or more presentation units103, referred to herein as a presentation unit 103, which alarms theuser of the handheld device 100 according to the reminders. Thepresentation according 103 may be a display, such as a screen, forexample a touch screen, as shown at 110, a tactile element, such asvibrator, and/or a speaker. Respectively, the alarms may be visual,tactile, and/or sonic. The presentation according 103 are optionallyintegrated in the handheld device, for example a speaker, a display,and/or the tactile element of a cellular phone or a laptop.

The handheld device 100 further includes a facial recognition module 101which analyses the images captured by the image sensor 102 andautomatically identifies a facial image that depicts a face, optionallyhuman, in a predefined area of its frame. The facial recognition module101 adds the facial image to a facial video sequence which locallyhosted on the memory of the device, as shown at 105 and/or to a facialvideo sequence which is stored on a remote storage device, for exampleas described below.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 3, which is a flowchart of a method300 of generating a sequence of images which have been captured indifferent and separate events, in which the face of user are located ina common area in the frame, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention.

First, as shown at 301, one or more repetitive reminders are set in theschedule of the handheld device 100. Optionally a graphical userinterface (GUI) is presented to the user, allowing her to select or marka repetitive reminder, for example every day in 15:30 PM, every day in06:30 AM, every day in 09:00 AM and in 15:30 PM and the like.Optionally, the repetitive reminder is added to the calendar of thehandheld device 100.

Optionally, the captured image is filtered to remove noise, for examplesalt and pepper noise. The filtering may be performed using filters, forexample n*m order filters. Minimum filters, Maximum filters or Medianfilters.

Now, as shown at 302, the process is calibrated. During the calibrationprocess a reference facial area is set. Optionally, the user uses theimage sensor 102 for capturing a facial image of an object, optionallyan object that has a face, for example a certain person and/or a certainanimal, such as a cat or a dog, which may be referred to herein as atarget object.

Now, a reference area in which the face of the target object is found,for example as shown by numeral 401 of FIG. 4.

Optionally, the handheld device 100 has a face detection module thatdetects the reference face area 401 within the boundaries of thecaptured image 400. The reference face area 401 delimits the face thatis depicted in the captured image 400. Optionally, in order to supportthe delimitation of the face area, the contrast between the face areaand the rest of the image is sharpened. The delimitation of the facearea may be based on color information of the color pixels of thecaptured image. Optionally, the HSV color space may be used foridentifying an area of the frame of the captured image where the face isfound, for example when the face is a human face. The image sensor 102which is used to capture the image may output the captured image in avariety of color coordinates, such as Red-Blue-Green (RGB) colorcoordinates or other color space coordinates. Optionally, the colorspace coordinates of the captured image is converted to HSV colorcoordinates. As commonly known, the hue distribution of human skin is ina certain range. Such a range thus provides a common hue level that canbe used to identify those color pixels that represent human skin. Thecommon hue level may thus be used to detect a cluster of color pixelsthat represents the skin of the face in the captured image. Optionally,the saturation level of each pixel may be used in addition to the huelevel in order to augment the determination of whether the pixelrepresents human skin or not. Optionally, the used hue level is in arange determined in relation to a shifted Hue space. The location of thearea in which the face is found is stored as a facial area, for exampleas coordinates. Optionally, the facial area is detected as described inIshii et al., ‘Face Detection Based on Skin Color Information in VisualScenes by Neural Networks’, Oct. 12-15, 1999, 1999 IEEE InternationalConference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, vol. 5, pp. 350-355, whichis incorporated herein by reference.

Additionally or alternatively, the expression of the target object isidentified and stored as a reference expression. Optionally, thereference expression includes positional, structural, and angular datapertaining to facial features, such as the lips, the eyebrows, thenostrils, and the like. The reference expression may be indicative ofthe actual facial expression of the target object, for example neutralface expression, smile, anger, disguised, shame, sadness, and the like.Optionally, the expression is detected and represented in known methodsfor example as described in Ioannou, Spiros et. Al, robust featuredetection for facial expression recognition, International Journal ofImage and Video Processing, Jan. 1, 2007; Wu et al., ‘Fast RotationInvariant Multi-View Face Detection Based on Real Adaboost’, May 17-19,2004, Proceedings of the Sixth IEEE International Conference onAutomatic Face and Gesture Recognition, pp. 79-84; Xiao et al., ‘RobustMultipose Face Detection in Images’, January 2004, IEEE Transactions onCircuits and Systems for Video Technology, vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 31-41;Schneiderman, Henry et al., “A Statistical Method for 3D ObjectDetection Applied to Faces and Cars, “Robotics Institute, CarnegieMellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Stan Z. Li, Long Zhu, ZhenqiuZhang, Andrew Blake, Hongjiang Zhang and Harry Shum, “StatisticalLearning of Multi-View Face Detection,” A. Heyden et al. (Eds.):ECCV2002, LNCS 2353, pp. 67-81, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002,which are incorporated herein by reference.

Now, as shown at 303, the user of the handheld device 100 is alarmedaccording to the repetitive reminders which are set in the schedule. Thealarming is performed by the presentation unit 103, for example asdescribed above. The alarming reminder the user that she should take animage of the target object, for example of herself. As described above,the alarming is performed, according to the reminders, every number ofhours, every day in a certain hour, a number of times day in certainhours and the like.

Optionally, the facial recognition module 101 receives an indicationabout the repetitive reminder and automatically instructs the initiationof an image capturing process. In such a manner images are captured andanalyzed, as further described below, without any additional act fromthe user.

Optionally, the reminder triggers the presentation of a GUI on thescreen of the handheld device. The GUI reminds the user that a facialimage should be captured and/or asks the user whether to initiate afacial image selection process and/or to postpone the facial imageselection process and to provide him another reminder, for examplewithin 5, 10, 1, 60 minutes or more, as shown at 310, and/or to dismissit.

Now, as shown at 304, the image capturing process initiates and imageswhich are captured by the image sensor 102 are analyzed to select animage that depicts a face in the face area, optionally with anexpression which is similar to the reference expression.

Reference is now also made, to FIG. 5 which is a flowchart of anexemplary facial image selection process, according to some embodimentsof the present invention.

First, as shown at 401 and 402, the reference facial area and optionallythe reference facial expression are received. Optionally, the referencefacial area is received as coordinates. Optionally the reference facialexpression is set by a set of positional, structural, and angular datapertaining to facial features.

Now, as shown at 403, some or all of the images captured by the imagesensor 102 are analyzed to whether they depict a face in a face areawhich is matching to the reference face area (for example having thesame coordinates and optionally size) and optionally whether the facehas a facial expression as defined at the reference expression.

As shown at 404 and 405, the location of the face in each one of theanalyzed images, and optionally the expression on that face, areidentified in a similar manner to the identification of the referenceface area and the reference expression, which are described above withregard to the calibration process.

Then, as shown at 406, the location and optionally the facial expressionare compared with the reference face area and the reference expression.If the comparison indicates a match of more than a certain level, forexample more than 50%, 70%, 90%, 99% or any intermediate or highervalue, the facial image, which may be referred to herein as a matchedimage, is selected, as shown at 408. Else, as shown at 407, a followingfacial image is analyzed as shown at 404-406.

It should be noted that the object target may be the user himself and/orany person or animal she selects, for example her child, her friends andthe like. As images are captured by the image sensor 102 as long as noimage is selected the user has time to manipulate the handled device100, which is optionally a cellular phone. Optionally, the manipulationis performed by replacing the handled device 100 in front of the targetobject face, by changing the zoom of the image sensor 102 and the like.Optionally the zoom of the image sensor 102 is fixed according to thezoom which has been used for capturing an image depicting the referenceface area.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, the device 100further comprises an instructing module designed to instruct the userduring the facial image selection process. Optionally, the instructingmodule aids the user to align and/or otherwise maneuver the handhelddevice 100 so as to acquire the facial image which is needed in order toassemble the video sequence. For example, the instructing modulepresents a motion direction indicator and/or a frame alignmentindication which are visible to the user, for example on the screen ofthe handheld device 100. Optionally, the motion direction indicatorand/or the frame alignment indication are calculated with respect to thelocal motion of the face and/or the global motion of the capturedimages. Optionally, the instructing module receives the coordinates ofthe reference facial area and the coordinates of the facial area in thecaptured image and calculates a motion vector between them. The motionvector is presented to the user, indicating how the handheld device 100should be maneuvered. The instructing module may also estimate sizedifferences between the reference facial area and the facial area in thecaptured image. In such an embodiment, the instructing module maypresent an indication whether the user should zoom in, zoom out, tiltin, and/or tilt out.

Reference is now made, once again, to FIG. 3. As shown at 305, the imageis selected during a facial image selection process depicted in 304, isadded to a facial video sequence. The facial video sequence may bestored in the memory of the handheld device 100 and/or in a remoteserver, such as a web server. In use, the selected image is addedlocally to the memory of the device, which may be a cellular deviceand/or sent, for example using a multimedia messaging service (MMS) or aTCP/IP service to the remote server. The forwarding and/or storage ofthe selected image may be performed automatically and/or after the userconfirmation.

In such embodiments, the video sequence may be accessed by other usersvia other client terminals, for example mobile devices, laptops,personal computers and the like. The access may be performed via anetwork such as a cellular network, a computer network, a wirelessIP-based network, a WLAN, or the combination thereof.

For example, the video sequence may be published in a website of theuser, such as a social network page. In such a manner, other users maysee a sequence that depicts changes in the face of the user during aperiod of few hours, days, weeks, months, and/or years.

According to some embodiments of the present invention, additionalcontent is added to the image before the adding thereof to the videosequence. The additional content may be information from the schedule,for example the activities of the user during that day, hour, and/orportion of the day, the date and hour of the image capturing event, anote added by the user, for example using a GUI which is presented onthe screen of the handheld device 100, geographic location of the user,for example taken by a GPS module or any other navigation or trackingsystem which are integrated and/or connected to the handheld device 100.

As described above, image is selected for addition to the video sequenceaccording to a match with the reference facial area and the referenceexpression. Optionally, the reference facial area and the referenceexpression are adjusted according to images which are documented in thevideo sequence, for example one or more previously taken images. Forexample, the coordinates of the reference facial area may be shiftedtoward the coordinates of the facial area in one or more of thepreviously captured images and/or the size and/or area of the facialarea may increase or decrease according to an increase or a decrease inone or more of the previously captured images. In another example, thereference expression is changed according to changes to facial featureswhich are depicted in one or more of the previously captured images. Insuch a manner, a gradual change in the expression of the target objectand/or in his facial features do not prevent from selecting an imagewhich is suitable for creating a facial video sequence, for example asdescribed above.

Optionally, the differences between images in the sequence video may bequantified and presented to the user, for example as percentage. In sucha manner, the user receives an indication of changes over time, forexample in a graph.

The device 100 may be used for creating video sequences which depicts anumber of different target objects. In such an embodiment, the processdepicted in FIG. 3 may be repeated for each target object.

It is expected that during the life of a patent maturing from thisapplication many relevant methods and systems will be developed and thescope of the term an image, a module, a memory, a server, a videosequence and an image sensor is intended to include all such newtechnologies a priori.

As used herein the term “about” refers to ±10%.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “having”and their conjugates mean “including but not limited to”. This termencompasses the terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.”

The phrase “consisting essentially of” means that the composition ormethod may include additional ingredients and/or steps, but only if theadditional ingredients and/or steps do not materially alter the basicand novel characteristics of the claimed composition or method.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, an and “the” include pluralreferences unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example,the term “a compound” or “at least one compound” may include a pluralityof compounds, including mixtures thereof.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance or illustration”. Any embodiment described as “exemplary” isnot necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over otherembodiments and/or to exclude the incorporation of features from otherembodiments.

The word “optionally” is used herein to mean “is provided in someembodiments and not provided in other embodiments”. Any particularembodiment of the invention may include a plurality of “optional”features unless such features conflict.

Throughout this application, various embodiments of this invention maybe presented in a range format. It should be understood that thedescription in range format is merely for convenience and brevity andshould not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the description of a range should be consideredto have specifically disclosed all the possible subranges as well asindividual numerical values within that range. For example, descriptionof a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specificallydisclosed subranges such as from 1 to 3, from 1 to 4, from 1 to 5, from2 to 4, from 2 to 6, from 3 to 6 etc., as well as individual numberswithin that range, for example, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This appliesregardless of the breadth of the range.

Whenever a numerical range is indicated herein, it is meant to includeany cited numeral (fractional or integral) within the indicated range.The phrases “ranging/ranges between” a first indicate number and asecond indicate number and “ranging/ranges from” a first indicate number“to” a second indicate number are used herein interchangeably and aremeant to include the first and second indicated numbers and all thefractional and integral numerals therebetween.

It is appreciated that certain features of the invention, which are, forclarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also beprovided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures of the invention, which are, for brevity, described in thecontext of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or inany suitable subcombination or as suitable in any other describedembodiment of the invention. Certain features described in the contextof various embodiments are not to be considered essential features ofthose embodiments, unless the embodiment is inoperative without thoseelements.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with specificembodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modificationsand variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scopeof the appended claims.

All publications, patents and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification are herein incorporated in their entirety by referenceinto the specification, to the same extent as if each individualpublication, patent or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference. Inaddition, citation or identification of any reference in thisapplication shall not be construed as an admission that such referenceis available as prior art to the present invention. To the extent thatsection headings are used, they should not be construed as necessarilylimiting.

1. A method of creating a video sequence, comprising: setting at leastone repetitive reminder in a schedule managed by a handheld devicehaving an image sensor; alarming a user according to said at least onerepetitive reminder; capturing a sequence of images using said imagesensor; automatically identifying a facial image depicting a face in apreset area in said sequence of images; automatically selecting saidfacial image, in response to said identification; and adding said facialimage to a facial video sequence.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein saidautomatically identifying is performed using a reference facial area. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising capturing an initial facialimage and calibrating said reference facial area according to thelocation of an initial face depicted in said initial image.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said automatically identifying comprisesautomatically identifying a facial image depicting a face having apreset facial expression.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprisingcapturing an initial facial image and calibrating said preset facialexpression according to the facial expression of an initial facedepicted in said initial image.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein saidreference facial area is adjusted according to a location of said facein at least one previously captured facial image in said facial videosequence.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein said preset facialexpression is adjusted according to a facial expression of said face inat least one previously captured facial image in said facial videosequence.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said automaticallyidentifying comprises automatically initiating said capturing inresponse to said alarming.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprisingautomatically adding a tag comprising content according to at least oneschedule record of said schedule to said facial image.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising automatically adding a tag describing ageographic location of said handheld device during said capturing tosaid facial image.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprisingautomatically adding a note created using said handheld device to saidfacial image.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said adding comprisesforwarding said facial image to a remote storage which hosts said facialvideo sequence and connected to a network.
 13. The method of claim 12,further comprising presenting said facial video sequence to a pluralityof users via said network.
 14. A handheld device of creating a facialvideo sequence, comprising: an image sensor which captures a sequence ofimages; a scheduling module which sets at least one repetitive reminderin a schedule; and a facial recognition module which activates saidimage sensor in response to said at least one repetitive reminder,automatically identifies a facial image depicting a face in a presetarea in said sequence of images and automatically adds said capturedfacial image to a facial video sequence.
 15. The handheld device ofclaim 14, further comprising a presentation unit which alarms a useraccording to said at least one repetitive reminder.
 16. The handhelddevice of claim 14, further comprising an instruction module forcomputing at least one instruction for maneuvering said handheld deviceso capture said facial image and presenting said at least oneinstruction on a screen of said handheld device.
 17. The handheld deviceof claim 14, wherein said handheld device is a cellular phone.
 18. Thehandheld device of claim 14, further comprising a location module whichdetects a location of said handheld and adds said location to saidfacial image.
 19. The handheld device of claim 14, further comprising acommunication module for forwarding said facial image to a remotestorage storing said facial video sequence.
 20. The handheld device ofclaim 14, further comprising a memory of storing said facial image.